Discover 1,500-year-old sandals buried under the snow

Secrets of the Ice, an archaeological organization that specializes in searching for antiquities in the Norwegian mountains, discovered a Roman sandal buried deep in the snow in the middle of a dangerous pass.

Sandal specimens on display at the Oslo museum.

Archaeologists found the unique sandal in the Lendbreen Pass in the Jotunheim Mountains, 322km northwest of Oslo. This place was once an important pass in the Viking era before the appearance of asphalt roads, often used by Vikings and medieval travelers from 300 to 1500.

According to research leader Espen Finstad, the sandal has many holes buried under the snow at an altitude of nearly 2,000m. The item is dated to 200-500 AD, coinciding with the end of the Roman Empire period. According to Finstad, it is likely that ancient people wore this type of lace-up sandal with fabric or animal skin, acting as socks. Glacial archaeologist Lars Pilo, a member of the Secrets of the Ice, thinks it's likely the user threw the slipper away when it became worn out.

Conservationist Vegard Vike studied the sandal now on display at the Natural History Museum in Oslo and created a restored version before its shape changed during the preparation for freeze drying. The discovery reveals the nature of the pass, its population and the number of people who often pass through it.

As the ice melts, the team hopes to find more artifacts to identify the communities that visited the Lendbreen Pass in ancient times.